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Wednesday, 27 January 2016

Camera Shy are a two-piece dream pop/indie rock band from Oakland, California that formed in 2014. They got started by Nick Bassett, who was already known as being a member of Whirr, Nothing, Death of Lovers, and a former member of Deafheaven. The other half of Camera Shy is Alexandra Morte, who used to sing in Whirr.

Their songs are, as you could probably guess by the phrase "dream pop", very light and dreamy. The heavy shoegaze influence of Whirr isn't really notable here. Instead, most songs are just an acoustic guitar, quiet vocals, and a hell of a lot of reverb. Their debut full-length expands on that basic structure to include drums, piano, and electric guitar that has a Smiths-esque jangly sound to it.

Music aside, I have to mention that they used to work with Run For Cover (as do Whirr), but were disowned by the label after Bassett posted a few negative comments were made towards the band G.L.O.S.S., which you can look into if you want. They were already notorious for sayings stupid shit online, but that was the breaking point. I'm not supporting this by sharing this band, just providing a way for people who want to hear their music to listen to it. They're a decent band, so if subtle indie pop songs are your thing, then give 'er a listen. Enjoy.

Tuesday, 26 January 2016

I got an e-mail requesting another band with the same name a while back, which reminded me of them, and I just had to get them on here since these guys rip. I saw them a few years back with Code Orange Kids and Full Of Hell, and they were nothing short of astounding. Creeper were a five-piece hardcore band from Toronto, Ontario that lasted from 2009 to 2014. They managed to get a few EP's and such under their belt. They play a really sludgy, riff-based brand of hardcore that can maybe warrant comparisons to Graf Orlock or Burning Love or something in between those, with really visceral vocals. Creeper are a solid band all around, though their best material is probably the Canyons split and Noise II Men. They've got a small discography though, so it's definitely worth giving everything a listen. Enjoy.

Monday, 25 January 2016

Here's one that's long overdue. My Fictions are a four-piece melodic hardcore/screamo band from Boston, Massachusetts that started in 2010. Their first release was a split with Aviator (who are now on No Sleep Records). After a string of astounding EP's and signing to Topshelf, they put out a fantastic collaborative split with The Saddest Landscape in 2013. Their follow-up to that was Stranger Songs, which was unbelievably good for a debut LP, and definitely put My Fictions on the map very fast. They came out with a very dark and moody take on melodic hardcore, with very heavy, grinding moments giving way to sinister, melodic instrumental breaks to balance out the relentless assaults. Their passion and animal-in-cage vocals even edge them into screamo territory, thus their appeal to many across the hardcore/screamo spectrum. Fans of bands like Birds In Row, Defeater, We Were Skeletons, The Saddest Landscape definitely need to have My Fictions on their radar. If dark, aggressive, impassioned music is your thing, this is the perfect band to try. Enjoy.

Saturday, 23 January 2016

Faith (sometimes The Faith) were a four-piece (and later five-piece) hardcore/punk band from Washington, D.C. that were active from 1981 to 1983. They were one of the most well-known bands in early hardcore, and have been massively influential since. They really made themselves stand out by incorporating a lot more melodic aspects in their music, particularly with the guitar riffs and vocals. They are best known for taking up the first side of the Faith/Void split. As I said in the Void post, this split is perfection, with both bands knocking out 12 songs each that are incredible in their own separate ways. Faith in particular offer up a different style of hardcore from their earliest peers, such as Teen Idles and State Of Alert (who some members were in), and marks the transition from those to the bands that came after them, like Rites Of Spring, Dag Nasty, and Embrace (who also shared members with Faith). They made statements as poignant as any of their peers, but managed to still push the envelope in terms of sound, and allow for more melody and vulnerability to exist alongside the typical macho-aggression hardcore was becoming notorious for.

As previously mentioned, Faith is quite notable for its members. They were fronted by Alec MacKaye, who was the younger brother of Ian MacKaye. Prior to Faith, he was in the Untouchables, who had three songs on Flex Your Head. Sonic Youth also covered their song "Nic Fit" on Goo. After Faith, he sang in the Revolution Summer-era band Ignition (along with Faith's Chris Bald), and then The Warmers in the 90's. Michael Hampton and Ivor Hansen played guitar and drums in the early hardcore band State Of Alert, which also included a pre-Black Flag Henry Rollins, then known as Henry Garfield. Hampton, Hansen, and Chris Bald all would later play in Embrace, which was fronted by Ian MacKaye. Hampton also was a member of One Last Wish, along with members of Rites Of Spring. On that note, guitarist Eddie Janney joined Faith for their sole EP Subject To Change. Janney was a member of Rites Of Spring, One Last Wish along with Hampton, as well as Happy Go Licky. Basically, Faith housed a ton of amazing musicians who were active in a ton of other amazing projects. But regardless of those, the work that Faith did still stands so well on its own, and continues to even 30 years after the fact. Enjoy.

Friday, 22 January 2016

Void were a four-piece hardcore/punk/thrash band from Washington, D.C. They formed in 1980 and broke up in 1983, which was a surprisingly long life span for a band in D.C. at the time. Despite their years together, they only put out one album, which was the second half of the now legendary Faith/Void split. This could very well be the single greatest split ever to be released in punk, and that's not a hyperbolic statement. Both bands broke ground in early hardcore, but in very different ways. Faith, on one hand, took unabridged aggression and turned it into something somewhat resembling melody, while still mastering the drill-sergeant command of their contemporaries. Void, on the other hand, took spastic chaos and just fucking ran with it. Hook up a bunch of kids barely out of their teens to a car battery, shock them into oblivion, and you'll have the equivalent amount of adrenaline that Void put into their music. Even from the first riff of "Who Are You", it's obvious this is a band that can barely be contained. Their music was so trashed, they basically pioneered thrash (metal, and groan away at the pun). Void's side of the split is, in my opinion, one of the most defining moments in hardcore history (as is Faith's, of course).

As I said, Void's legacy was built upon just the 12 songs on the split for a long time. They also had 3 other songs about on Flex Your Head, but that was about it for their officially released material. For a long time, that contributed to the band's mystery. They did have bootlegs circulated, but none every received proper mastering and widespread release. In the advent of the internet, however, this changed, of course. The curtains pulled back, but at least we get to hear some of the hallowed unreleased material that hid below the surface for years. Their fully recorded but unreleased full-length, Potion For Bad Dreams, as well as an early demo, Condensed Flesh, are both available online (as well as here). In 2011, Ian MacKaye compiled a ton of lost recordings of them, including early demos spanning from '81, '82', and '83, as well as some live material and the songs that appeared on the Flex Your Head compilation. Thus, their only other official release, Sessions 1981-83 was born. There's also a ton of live videos and sets from them around the internet, and I cannot recommend checking them out enough, they are unbelievable. Without further ado, here's what made the legendary Void what they are. Enjoy.

Wednesday, 20 January 2016

All Pigs Must Die are a four-piece hardcore/crust punk band from all over Massachusetts that formed in 2009. The band is a "supergroup" of sorts, features members from tons of noteworthy bands, including The Hope Conspiracy, Converge, Bloodhorse, and Acid Tiger. The band is signed to Southern Lord, which puts them in league with a ton of metallic hardcore's best offerings today (Trap Them and Black Breath, to name just two). All Pigs Must Die have mastered the riff, managing to craft some unique songs while still maintaing a very dark, heavy, and sludgy atmosphere. It's a battle cry, a soundtrack to a war-torn apocalypse, and oh is it good. Imagine a guttural explosion of sound with technical precision, and you've got All Pigs Must Die. The band's two full-lengths are nothing short of solid, and certainly worth your time. Their debut EP is probably the best place to start though, it's their best known and for good reason. APMD eschew all assumptions of inferiority in regards to the word "side-project". They are their own animal. Enjoy.

Thursday, 14 January 2016

Julia Brown were an indie/pop/lo-fi band from Baltimore, Maryland that were around between 2013 and 2014. After Teen Suicide broke up, virtually all of their members formed Julia Brown, until Teen Suicide re-formed. The two bands are pretty similar, in that they're both the brainchild of Sam Ray (also of Ricky Eat Acid and Starry Cat), though Julia Brown does away with a lot of the overtly depressing aspects of Teen Suicide in favour of straight-forward pop songs. Albeit, the same lo-fi, tape hiss aesthetic is still omnipresent.

Their discography is interesting, in that it really only contains two albums, though they each were released twice on separate occasions. Their debut, to be close to you was initially released in 2013 by Birdtapes with just 8 songs. In 2015 it was reissued by Joy Void with another side of demos and b-sides, in addition to the original 8 tracks. Their follow-up, An Abundance Of Strawberries was original self-released in 2014, but recently was released by Joy Void (in 2016). They also released a single for "Library", which featured two re-recorded Julia Brown songs, as well as a Teen Suicide cover. These 3 songs are some of the cleanest in terms of production, which makes that single really stand out. They also had a track appear on Topshelf's V-Day split in 2013, which I did not include a download link for because the proceeds for it go to a good cause, just read the blurb in the Bandcamp link. Anyway, here's Julia Brown's small but incredibly solid discography. Enjoy.

Tuesday, 12 January 2016

Rainer Maria are a three-piece indie/emo band from Madison, Wisconsin that formed in 1995 and broke up in 2006. However, between 2014 and 2015 they've done a handful reunion shows, so if we're lucky there will be another in 2016. The main focus though is their recorded material, which they were quite productive with. They put out a slew of full-lengths, as well as a few EP's and one live album, almost all of which were with Polyvinyl (which was also home to Joan of Arc, American Football, and Owen).

Rainer Maria fit the "emo" tag in the sense that they incorporated clean, arpeggiated guitars, slowly-driven intricate rhythms, but certainly had much more to them. For one, this is probably one of the tightest three-piece bands I can think of, where each instrument contributes so much to every individual song, and come together to form some really beautiful tones. The vocals are incredible, mostly female-sung, though earlier on they did feature dual male/female vocals, adding another layer to an already finely-tuned machine. In my opinion, they could be mentioned on the same level as bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, though sadly never gained quite as much recognition. Still, they're an unbelievable band that have a very strong following of their own. I would highly recommend this band to not only any fan of "emo" (though fans of "emo revival" bands do take note, Rainer Maria were a big influence on a lot of them), but any fan of good, guitar-based indie rock. Enjoy.

Thursday, 7 January 2016

Here's the perfect band to start off a jet black new year. They've been consistently requested over the years, which makes sense considering the massive amount of influence they've have on some bands on here, while still being a very well-known band in their own right.

Thursday were a six-piece post-hardcore band from New Brunswick, New Jersey that formed in 1997 and came to an end in 2011. They emerged just as popular post-hardcore/emo/alternative acts such as Taking Back Sunday, Thrice, and Alexisonfire hit it big in the early 2000's, a wave they became front-runners of very quickly. After releasing their debut album Waiting in 1999, their breakthrough album came in 2001 with Full Collapse, which spawned a ton of songs that have become staples of the band, such as "Understanding In A Car Crash", "Cross Out The Eyes", "Paris In Flames", and "Standing On The Edge Of Summer". They continued this success on their follow-up War All The Time, which was their heaviest material to date. It also showed a glimpse of them becoming the overtly political force they later would, in addition to the deeply personal lyrics they had gotten their start with. A City By The Light Divided showcased a band continue to experiment, but with a lot more melody this time around. On Common Existence they again did a double-take and released some of their most aggressive and straight-forward material. Their sixth and final album No Devolución broke apart from their origins by including tons of atmospheric and post-rock influence, which isn't surprising considering their collaboration with Envy a few years later and a staggering Sigur Rós cover even earlier on in their career.

As aforementioned, Thursday took a break in 2011. Their hiatus was officially declared as a breakup in 2013, though the band's future is still in the air. Vocalist Geoff Rickly remains quite active, most notably as a member of United Nations, who got their start in the middle of Thursday's career. He also started another band called No Devotion, which released their debut album last year. Regardless, it's Thursday's legacy we're talking about here, so below is their discography. Let me know if you have anything I'm missing by them, and enjoy.

A Stubborn Reminder...

Please remember, not everything on here is supposed to be free. Enjoy to your heart's content, but if you can, please try and support these bands by purchasing records, going to shows, buying merch, anything if at all possible. Most of them could really use (and deserve) it.